THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 16, 1995 TAG: 9510160031
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLISE LYLES AND LARRY BROWN, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long : 125 lines
Can the message of today's Million Man March stand apart from its messenger, the controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan?
A day before the march, as thousands of black men converged on the capital, many said it could. But people from as far as California and South Dakota expressed deep reservations, saying Farrakhan's divisive rhetoric threatened to undercut the march's display of unity.
As the city readied itself for traffic crunches and subway crowds, blacks, whites, Jews and Asians sought to sort out the meaning of the march that comes 32 years after Martin Luther King Jr.'s civil rights march on Washington.
In interviews, many disdained Farrakhan's most recent remarks, in which he used the term ``bloodsuckers'' to describe Jews, Koreans, Vietnamese and others who run businesses in the black community but do not reinvest in it.
At the same time, many onlookers sympathized with the problems of blacks and viewed the rally as a call to action that could benefit the whole country.
``What Farrakhan says, I personally am against because I am Jewish,'' said Jack Weiss, a retired trucking firm owner visiting from Tamarac, Fla., to see the Holocaust Memorial Museum. ``Otherwise, I see nothing wrong with the march. It's a big boost for your young black men.''
``But picking on Jews, there's no need for it,'' said Weiss as he stood in the doorway of the Hyatt Regency.
Anticipating the bus caravans, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry and other city officials sought to ease commuter angst. Road signs half way to Richmond warned drivers of traffic snarls this morning.
At the march site near the Capitol, police barricaded streets and workers erected giant Sony television screens and set up 3,000 portable toilets.
Organizers of the rally privately told law enforcement officials they expect a maximum of 500,000 people to attend, Park Police Capt. Tom Wilkins said Sunday.
Throughout the day, carloads of black men could be seen arriving from Georgia and New York. At Union Station, dozens of men carrying sleeping bags and backpacks arrived by train Sunday night.
A crowd of 500,000 would be one of the largest gatherings in Washington history - twice the attendance at the 1963 civil rights demonstration, which included men and women of many races.
Meanwhile, Farrakhan, whose anti-semitic and racist comments have renewed dissension over his leadership, canceled his television appearances Sunday. A spokesman said he was suffering from exhaustion, but this was refuted by a spokesman for Benjamin Chavis Jr., who said Farrakhan was conserving his energy for today.
Across town on L Street, four black men in a car with Missouri plates pulled to the curb to ask Robert Sardelli for directions. ``I struggle with it,'' Sardelli sighed after cordially guiding the men.
To Sardelli, who is white, the march and messenger are inseparable.
``I see Farrakhan as a vulture,'' said the 34-year-old computer programmer from Rockville, Md. ``There's a spirit that needs to be revived in the African-American community and he's taking advantage of that.''
Supporters describe the event as a call for black men to take responsibility for their lives and families, and to dedicate themselves to fighting the scourges of drugs, violence and unemployment.
Some African Americans in this majority black city embrace the march but rebuke Farrakhan.
Scores of blacks are blindly following Farrakhan, said Willie Dorsey, a black computer-science major at the University of the District of Columbia. ``He's not even following the Bible,'' Dorsey said. ``(With God) there is no black or white. There is just the spirit.''
Yet Dorsey plans to attend the march. He gathered with others Sunday outside the non-denominational, multi-racial Washington, D.C., Church of Christ.
Clifton West, son of Harvard University black scholar and author Cornell West, sees the march as separate from the man. ``I know he's controversial and my dad has a lot of disagreement with him,'' said the 18-year-old who had just flown in from Atlanta. ``But Muslim, Christian, black men of all classes need to put aside their differences.''
Just a block from the White House, Vietnamese vendor Hien Nguyen sat in the sun hawking T-shirts.
``See that shirt,'' he said, pointing to one that emblazoned with Million Man March and Farrakhan's face. ``A lot of people, they don't buy. Reason, they don't like his face. It's a risk item for me. They buy other one without his face.''
Today, Nguyen said he plans to follow police advice and stay home. ``The black men who pass by here, they nice people, but I don't know. A million of them?''
Though some clearly see Farrakhan as the focus, they hope the march will yield positive results.
``I think the march can be a catalyst,'' said J. Marcell Hall, a white utility worker from Oakland, Calif.
Taking issues to Washington ``is a way to get things done,'' said Tom Frankenhoff, a school suprintendent from McLaughin, S.D. ``No. I don't agree with Farrakhan. But he's an organizer, and he's gotten something done.''
At Borders Bookstore cafe, Nadine Granoff, an attorney, saw Farrakhan's purpose as fuzzy. ``I don't know that the march has a tangible goal,'' she said. ``I do know I've been put off by the explicit exclusion of women. It seems antiquated, narrow-minded and bigoted.''
In another hotel lobby a block from the march site, black Muslim Minister Jeremiah Fard Muhammad of Dallas calmly answered questions about the march conceived by his mentor.
``A lot of people are saying that they don't support the messenger, but they do,'' said Muhammad.
``Some may support 99 percent of what Minister Farrakhan says and only disagree with 1 percent,'' he said. ``So you see, brothers and sisters, you cannot separate the march from the messenger.''
ILLUSTRATION: Color ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS
Reports that he was ill were refuted later Sunday after Louis
Farrakhan canceled appearances on NBC's ``Face the Nation'' and
Jesse Jackson-hosted ``Both Sides'' on CNN. A Benjamin Chavis
spokesman said Farrakhan ``prefers to have a lockdown on any press
interviews until tomorrow.''
Organizers in Washington expect 11,000 buses such as these taking
Detroit men Sunday to converge on the capital for today's march.
Side Bar
Who's Marching, Who's Not
For full text, see microfilm
KEYWORDS: MILLION MAN MARCH by CNB